Virginia Armed Robbery Lawyer

Armed Robbery is robbery with an additional charge of possession of a weapon in the commission of a felony. A felony conviction can have serious consequences. An individual could lose their civil liberties, including their right to bear arms. The stigma of a felony conviction can also be a barrier to securing housing and maintaining stable employment. With so much on the line, it is important for individuals to speak with a Virginia armed robbery lawyer as soon as possible. A qualified robbery attorney could advocate for them.

• Negotiating Armed Robbery to Robbery in Virginia
• Defense

When to Hire an Armed Robbery Lawyer

A person charged with armed robbery should hire a Virgina armed robbery attorney as soon as they think they might potentially have a charge coming, if they think they are being investigated, or if they committed or have reason to think that somebody would think they committed a crime. They should call an attorney right away and talk about what they need to do to preserve their potential first offense later on and at the very least to prevent them from incriminating themselves further.

An attorney could handle the bond immediately if the person is arrested, or start filings things right away. A Virginia armed robbery lawyer as well as for the preservation of evidence. They can help with eyewitnesses, videos, or anything that might be of use in the defense, especially if there is an alibi situation.

Mitigating Factors

If individuals are able to come forward with information about their accomplices before the arrest, it is extremely helpful and can help limit the amount of damage and inculpatory evidence. That evidence could potentially convict that person or might otherwise give up their family members to the police without being informed.

Reasons to Hire an Attorney

If someone has been charged with armed robbery, it is imperative that they work with an experienced attorney that could be aggressive and knows how to mount a defense. It is a separate charge, so it needs to have certain elements in to be convicted. Part of the charge is using, attempting to use, or displaying in a threatening matter a weapon, specifically a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Due to all of the elements involved, a person needs a Virginia armed robbery lawyer who is able to discuss all these elements, like what exactly is a firearm, what exactly is the connection to the felony, and whether the weapon was displayed in a threatening manner.

Relevant Information in an Armed Robbery Case

There are certain bits of information that somebody should have available when contacting a Virginia armed robbery lawyer. Anything that an individual can remember could be relevant to the case. It is important to note who was there, what they were doing, who they were with, whether there were surveillance photos nearby, whether there were witnesses or not, and so on.

If the accused has a previous criminal record, they should share that information as well. Lawyers use that information to determine the severity of the penalties that an individual could face and what the likelihood is for bond if doing a bond motion. They are going to need to know if the person ever had failures to appear, had ties in the community, and had trouble when they were out on probation or out on bond before. With this information, the defense attorney can file an almost complete bond motion.

Penalties for Armed Robbery

Robbery has a mandatory minimum of five years and a separate charge of a minimum of three years adds on to be served consecutively as opposed to concurrently to the mandatory minimum of the robbery of five years. It is a felony charge and it is the possession of a weapon within the commission of a felony. A person has two things to prove, the possession of the weapon and the commission of the felony. An experienced robbery attorney could attempt to mitigate the penalties that an individual may face.

Hiring a Virginia Armed Robbery Attorney

Someone should consider hiring a Virginia armed robbery lawyer for this work for the same reasons that they should consider hiring a local lawyer for a robbery offense. In Virginia, there is the potential for felonies to be a bench trial or a jury trial. Usually, the prosecution asks for jury trials, because juries tend to be harsher than a lot of judges, especially on first defenders for this type of situation. In bifurcated jury trials, juries have the ability to sentence a person. Not only do they say guilty or innocent, but they can impose one’s sentence. It is very difficult to undo a jury sentence, so a person could potentially end up with much more time if a jury does not like the person or thinks that that person’s crime is heinous. A dedicated robbery attorney could fight relentlessly to build a solid defense for an individual.